Hope Reins: Therapeutic horseback riding puts smiles on faces

By Nikki Ross nikki.ross@news-jrnl.com

Monday

Apr 23, 2018 at 2:00 AMApr 23, 2018 at 12:23 PM

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Josiah Auborn, with the help of a volunteer, climbs onto Daisy, a brown therapeutic horse with a purple bridle and multicolored reins. He's led into the riding arena and his face lights up. This is one of the few times his mother sees him smile.

"When he's on the horses he's a different kid" said Tammy Auborn, Josiah's adopted mother. "He's always ready for the ride here."

Josiah and his three adopted siblings, who have autism, attend Hope Reins, a nonprofit therapeutic horseback riding program in New Smyrna Beach. Hope Reins uses horse-related activities such as grooming and riding to positively impact the physical, cognitive and emotional well-being of people with disabilities.

Therapeutic horseback riding also helps improve emotional well-being including reducing stress, learning to socialize, motivation and building relationships with others.

"I believe in my heart that horses are empaths," Rosenthal said."They can sense your emotions and they will mirror them back to you so you can see what is inside of yourself."

Auborn sees the improvements in her kids every time they come, which is once a week.

"My oldest, Sidney, has a lot of mental health issues," Auborn said. "She used to not be able to get through the day without 20 meltdowns."

Since being enrolled in Hope Reins, Sidney's meltdowns have decreased significantly and she becomes calmer around the horses.

"It's the highlight of her week," Auborn said. "The staff here is incredible, they teach so much more then just how to ride a horse."

Hope Reins currently has 13 horses in the program, 60 riders with various disabilities and 15 people on a wait list.

"We started very small with two people and one horse," Rosenthal said. "It's been a wonderful road."

The staff and volunteers work together to make a plan specifically for each rider. Rosenthal said her favorite part about what they do is bringing participants and parents joy.

"I love seeing the joy on parents faces and how they respond when they see that their kid is improving," Rosenthal said. "We have kids say their first words here or they sleep through the night for the first time after their ride."

For parents Jeff Lenarcic and Ashley Williams, the program has helped their son, Raymond, who has autism, gain confidence.

"His confidence level is so much higher, he's loves coming here and he is more verbal," Williams said. "It helps him learn to interact with other people and animals."

Michael Blattner, a therapeutic riding instructor and equine specialist in mental health and learning, helps teach social skills to participants while they are riding.

"We start by doing introductions," Blattner said. "I want them to engage and learn the names so that they will interact with their horse and their leader volunteer. Then we move onto all sorts of stuff that is applicable in the riding world."

Blattner is a disabled military veteran who has ridden horses his whole life. When he was injured in the military he had to relearn how to walk and was told he should never ride horses again. He ignored the suggestion.

"I got on a horse after about six years and I realized just how much weaker the damaged parts of my body were." Blattner said. "Riding helped me so much get back into life and I can relate to a lot of things both the students with physical and emotional issues are going through."

Hope Reins is always looking for help from the community, said Sherry Argenbright, program director.

"If you have the passion in your heart and want to help, you don't need to have horse experience. We will teach you," Argenbright said. "We tend to have a void in the summers and high school students can get community service hours."

Argenbright said the program wouldn't be what it is without its devout volunteers, instructors and horses.

If interested in volunteering at Hope Reins or for information on the program, visit hopereinsinc.org.

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